muammar gaddafi was killed by rebels in 2011 after months on the run. the united nations says 220,000 died in syria, millions more fled the fighting. today a first briefing to the security council on the suffering. paul beban explains the news is grim. >> reporter: after more than four years of fighting in syria the scale of the crisis is staggering. since the spring of 2011 more than 4 million syrians fled the shattered country. nearly 2 million into turkey making it the country with the largest refugee population in the world. most poured into camps and communities in lebanon, jordan iraq. some made it to europe. more than 270,000 applied for asylum. inside syria the war displaced 7.5 million more virtually all of them according to the u.n. are enduring horrifying danger. what began in syria was unrest. it transformed into a war characterised by the complete failure to protect civilians. generating levels of suffering for most civilians. >> steven o'brien says government troops and other parties are making a bad situation worse. preventing humanitaria

people nope it's not over yet. >> let's go back to our earlier story about muammar gaddafi's son being sentenced to death in a trial in libya. mark ellis is an international law specialist and executive director of the international bar association. mark good to speak with you. you have deep concerns about how the trial was conducted. just take us through them. >> well, i think the first real concern is the transparency issue. we know by reviewing the reports and speaking to a number of people including journalists it was exceedingly difficult to observe the trial on a regular basis, and the security situation in tripoli added to that confusion and it really set an environment that was very difficult for individuals observers to actually look at and see the trial day in and day out. that means it's difficult to get an assessment on whether or not the trial was in fact met international standards of fairness and impartiality. you have to have fairness for that to succeed. >> he wasn't in court to hear the verdict. i guess the question has to be was he able to follow proceedings and prop

we'll be right leon: a libyan court sentenced muammar gaddafi's son. saif al-islam gaddafi is currently being held by militia who is refusing to surrender him to the current government. today secretary of state john kerry implored member of congress to support the nuclear deal reached with iran. he defended the commitment before the house affairs committee and joined by the secretary of state of energy and the treasury secretary. kerry said scrapping the deal would mean a nuclear armed iran. secretary kerry: let me underscore the alternative to deal we have reached is not some kind of unicorn fantasy that contemplates iran complete capitulation. leon: kerry tried to convince republicans and skeptical democrats that the agreement is based on verification and not trust. congress has until september 17 to either endorse or reject the deal. maureen: two in names appear. they were added to the memorial this weekend. medina and hugg s died in a helicopter crash in earthquake relief mission in nepal. hall of heroes recognize those in the communication field w

a libyan court passes death sentence on muammar gaddafi pass most prominent son, site eval islam -- site eval islam -- saif al-islam. barack obama is set to shortly become the first ever u.s. president to address the african union. a short tour of the region is in focus on security and human rights. he is now in the ethiopian capital. we have seen those images in the last half-hour of the main african union building there making a speech to the unit. he has already praised many in the fight against terror. expressing real concern about democratic and human rights. one of the issues obama has been addressing is the civil war and south sudan. tens of thousands have been killed in the conflict area it is hoped the two sides will agree to a peace deal by mid-august, but the rebel leader has told france 24 there are some issues to be resolved. our correspondent has this report. >> calling for a breakthrough in the peace efforts, barack obama underlined the urgency of the situation in south sudan. speaking in addis ababa, he thanked the african union and the radio -- and the mediation force. p

a libyan court passes death sentence on muammar gaddafi pass most prominent son, site eval islam

in news from libya, muammar gaddafi's son and 8 others have been sentenced to death for committing war crimes during the crackdown against the 2011 revolution, which ultimately toppled the gaddafi regime. the former prime minister and head of intelligence are also facing the death penalty. in news from turkey, the police have detained more than 1,000 people in the ongoing crackdown on suspected militants from the self-proclaimed islamic state, as well as members of the dissident kurdish workers party, known as the pkk. meanwhile, at an emergency meeting in brussels today, nato offered support for turkey's escalating military actions which include air strikes against isil in syria and attacks on pkk camps in northern iraq. they have called the assault on pkk camps a dangerous development that will create more terminal -- more turmoil. in germany, an explosion in dresden struck the car of a leftist politician who has been advocating for refugees. the explosion comes one day after dresden residents smashed windows in a hotel that is being converted into refugee housing. asylum application

they suffered chaotic divisions since muammar gaddafi was toppled in an uprising. a u.n.-backed government is based in tobruk. it has the support. libyan national army and signed a peace work agreement. the rival group as based in tripoli, and claims to be the legitimate government. it's supported by a collection of armed groups known as libya down. >> joining us from washington d.c. is jason pack, president of libyaanalyst.com. a consulting company. thank you for joining us on al jazeera. two governments, one is taking the peace agreement or the framework seriously. is there really any hope that this will lead to a solution? >> there is. but we shouldn't think of it as two governments, zero governments. there's no sovereignty in libya. you have a range of competing militias. what is encouraging, but not headline grabbing as iranian negotiations, is the u.n. backed negotiations have most of the factions to sign their names to it. this is not going to change the situation on the ground. we have a multipolar civil war. now we have a framework within which to build one gover

before the contras in nicaragua, before -- he was seen as a bulwark against the market off the -- muammar gaddafiupport, he took power, maintain power, but turned his country into a police state. it was a one party system. he is accused of thousands of political killings, of systematic torture. we happened to stumble on the files of his political police, the dds, in the event in offices. in these files alone, we were able to calculate the names of 1208 people who died, over 12,000 people who were tortured or victims of opportunity detention. he carried out waves of ethnic cleansing against, first in the south in 1984, then against other ethnic groups. he was overthrown, finally, 1990 by the current president of chad . it is been 25 years since hissÈne habrÉ fled to senegal 25 years his victims have been pursuing him. amy: and the secret police? >> it was kind of like his personal gestapo. it was, according to the documents we found, his eyes and ears. it reported directly to him. so we have daily reports going to him about the treatment of different prisoners. it is clear from these documents, wh

it was a cable that described muammar gaddafi's visit to the united states. and it was this richly detailed portraits of what his requirements would be in his hotel. he wanted a tent on the ground. it was very controversial. it was really richly detailed who traveled with. he traveled with free female nurses. how he was in such bad physical shape that the police don't give him a hotel room with stairs because he would get out of breath. really richly detailed. we were about that whole cable in the new york times, the guardian was going to use it julian assange was going to use it area and then government called up and said ok, take a look closely at the cable. to see the names of the bottom that described the people who were accompanying qadhafi who do you think gave us all that information? and what you think is going to happen to them? when to dock this is that cable and the new york times with a description of how is in horrible shape, is a little bit of a not job etc.. what's going at those people? >> so not only did i agree to all the cable back into lat

. >> muammar gaddafi's son was found guilty. he testified before the court via video link, still held by a libyan rebel group that refuses to release him. international courts also want to try him on similar charges. >> leaders from a dozen pacific rim countries are due to meet in hawaii today for decisive talks on a landmark trade agreement pushed by president obama. the goal is to create a single global marketplace and slash the cost of trading. there are many potential downsides. >> its products monitor levels of air and water pollution and eco tech, an australian company has exported them around the world. tariffs and regulations have made some big markets mexico in particular difficult to crack. its boss homes the transpacific partnership will change that. >> we're confident that we have the mechanisms to put out the services and the competitive edges to take on these opportunities that a t.p.p. would bring. >> in all 12 pacific rim countries involved in the t.p.p. talks which make up 40% of the global economy exporters are

it was a cable that described muammar gaddafi's visit to the united states. and it was this richly detailed portraits of what his requirements would be in his hotel. he wanted a tent on the ground. it was very controversial. it was really richly detailed who traveled with. he traveled with free female nurses. how he was in such bad physical shape that the police don't give him a hotel room with stairs because he would get out of breath. really richly detailed. we were about that whole cable in the new york times, the guardian was going to use it julian assange was going to use it area and then government called up and said ok, take a look closely at the cable. to see the names of the bottom that described the people who were accompanying qadhafi who do you think gave us all that information? and what you think is going to happen to them? when to dock this is that cable and the new york times with a description of how is in horrible shape, is a little bit of a not job etc.. what's going at those people? >> so not only did i agree to all the cable back into lat

for many libyans the gaddafi brothers and father's former aid represent the different faces of muammar qaddafi's 4-year long dictatorship a regime that many want left in the past. >> a new africa is emerging. the words of barack obama as he addressed the africa union in ethiopia. it is the first time that a sitting u.s. president has delivered a speech to the au. he said that africa is on the move and will move away from war and poverty. but he warned this progress is being put at risk by what he describes a the cancer of corruption and by leaders who cling to power against the wishes of their people. he also urged african leaders not to abuse their power by cracking down on critical voices. we have reports. >> it was the first ever to the four-member african union. and obama did not disappoint. it was his first criticism of african leaders who remain in office beyond their term limits that resonated most with the government dignitaries. >> when leaders try to change the rules in the middle of the game just to stay in office it risks instability and strife, as we've seen in burundi. an